Schuylkill Yards West Tower, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Overview: Schuylkill Yards is planned on 14 acres of land owned by Drexel and Brandywine Realty Trust and includes a 6.5-acre public space. The next step in the transformative, $3.5 billion Schuylkill Yards project will be red and white towers reaching over 300 and 500 ft high. The towers, which sit at 3001 and 3025 JFK Boulevard, will be mixed-use, with office space, amenities, retail, and residences. West tower construction is currently underway. GeoStructures conducted the geotechnical investigation and design for the project, as well as environmental testing, vibration monitoring, and construction materials testing/inspections. 

The challenges for this project were the historical features associated with its former use as a rail yard, consisting of several buried structures such as tunnels, remnants of substation, turn table, coal loading wharf, and others. Several test pits were excavated to expose and document these features and underground obstructions.

GeoStructures performed a geotechnical investigation and environmental testing via test borings & piezometers. The objective of our work was to explore and characterize the subsurface soils, rock, and groundwater conditions and address the design and construction issues associated with foundations and other geotechnical items.

A mat foundation was proposed for the East Tower upon removal of local clayey soils below foundations and ballast stabilization treatment. Temporary excavation support consisting of soldier piles in caisson holes and soil nails with tiebacks or internal bracing were designed to facilitate construction excavations. GeoStructures also performed soil clean fill testing as well as groundwater sampling and testing to address any contamination for the purpose of excavation soil disposal and construction dewatering. Vibration and noise monitoring was also conducted along the active CSX line.